With the recent enforcement of red lights in Central Park and elsewhere around the city, could cyclists be pushed out of a once perfect training arena? This is the question many of us are asking, or at least thinking. We’ve seen red light crackdowns before but nothing like Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the ‘Cycling’ Category
The End of a NYC Cycling Era
In Central Park, Cycling, New York City, Running, Training, Triathlon on February 17, 2011 at 9:48 amIronman Camp, New Paltz
In Cycling, Ironman, Training, Triathlon on February 2, 2011 at 3:23 pmIt’s hard to believe that we have just completed our third Ironman training camp for 2011 Ironman season. I hit the (icy) road with TriLife this weekend and headed up to New Paltz for a few days of cross training and motivation.
After a morning swim session in the city, we arrived in New Paltz late in the morning. We quickly donned our snowshoes and headed out for a ten mile backcountry run. It was great to be out in the wilderness with virtually nobody around. We had a great workout and finished with a little run on the open road. Man, it felt good to take off those snowshoes. We were snowshoeing because it will help us with our running form. Snowshoeing teaches us to utilize our glutes, engage our hip flexors, and increase our cadence.
Sunday met us with a killer indoor cycling session where we attempted to determine our maximum heart-rates. I found this difficult to achieve because my muscles were so fatigued, yet, enjoyed the workout none the less. We polished the ride off with a run and headed back to the city.
It was a quick and productive trip. I am SO excited for warmer weather and bit more outdoor time.
Cinque Terre
In Cycling, Italy, Running, Travel on January 26, 2011 at 7:29 pmWhen I first heard of the Cinque Terre region of Italy I immediately conjured visions of an over- crowded tourist trap. This was not the case at all. This is a really special stretch of rugged coastline in Northern Italy. The region contains five towns and many acres of natural preserve. The towns feel like small independent villages nestled along the coastline, connected only by a hiking trail and a train (This is not actually the case as there is also a highway).
One morning, we started early and ran the trail connecting the towns- it was one of the best experiences of my life. I felt so connected to the place as we dashed up the steep cliffs and down the ravines into neighboring towns to try out their slice of heaven with quick dips into their section of the sea.
We also found this to be a difficult yet fantastic base for some amazing road cycling. The hills in this area provide little relief as you climb the Giro d’Italia route and see the encouraging slogans painted from years past. One can’t help but try to go all- out on the downhills and imagine what it must feel like to be racing with the best cyclists from around the world.
Indoor Training
In Cycling, Training, Triathlon on January 25, 2011 at 5:39 pmWith the weather snowy as it can get, most of my cycling has to be done inside. I often dread the trainer sessions because they are really quite hard. I got to thinking today and realized, this is why I should love them. I am training for an Ironman, I only have 180 days until the race. If a hard trainer session will isolate my weaknesses and push me to become a stronger, more fluid rider, I say bring it.
